New York approves first US cap on Uber, app-based cab drivers

Bloomberg

New York’s city council dealt a political blow to Uber Technologies Inc. and other app-based car-for-hire companies by approving a one-year industry wide cap on new licenses and giving the city Taxi & Limousine Commission authority to set minimum pay standards for drivers.
The passage of sweeping industry regulations signalled politicians’ changed attitudes towards the so-called gig economy and electronic car-hailing services such as Uber, Lyft Inc. and Via Transportation Inc.
The council voted against a similar cap proposed by Mayor Bill de Blasio three years ago after Uber mounted a television ad campaign and mobilised drivers and customers to oppose it. App-based licenses have since increased to more than 80,000 from 12,600, according to the city Taxi & Limousine Commission.
“We are not taking away any service that is currently being offered to customers,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson said. “This is about supporting and uplifting drivers.”
Unrestrained growth has
increased congestion in central Manhattan and heightened competition has suppressed pay for drivers of Yellow Cabs, black car liveries and luxury limousines. Hundreds of cab owners couldn’t earn enough to pay their car leases and taxi-license medallions, and economic desperation became a factor in at least six driver suicides since November. About 85 percent of drivers for app-based companies earn less than $17.22 an hour, according to an industry study by New School’s Center for New York City Affairs.
The electronic-app ride hail companies argued against the cap, saying it would shrink the number of available drivers.